Saturday, October 22, 2011

It's taken me forever to write this post because sweet potatoes confuse me. Whenever I see a dish or product made with sweet potatoes, the implication seems to be that they are so much healthier than white potatoes. So when I saw this chart of nutrition facts, I was really surprised to see the carb count. Fifty eight grams! I've seen iced cinnamon buns at WaWa with fewer carbs than that!At this point, I was starting to wonder about eating sweet potatoes. They must be murder on blood sugar, right? Well, as it turns out, your blood sugar will rise about 30% less when you eat sweet potatoes vs. regular potatoes, due to their higher fiber content. Of course I can't overlook the most obvious fact about sweet potatoes: their color. The flesh of a sweet potato is a lovely, vibrant orange as opposed to the white flesh of a regular potato, and by now we all know what that means: Antioxidants! Vitamin C! Beta carotene! It's good to know that the sweet 'tater fries I've been eating do have some redeeming qualities after all!For further information check out the very good articles at both Livestrong and Worlds Healthiest Foods.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

One thing we don't do much is preserve food. We've frozen some things and canned tomatoes with my mom, but Gerry's always been a little timid about trying to can on his own. He's scared he's going to poison someone, plain and simple. I'm not even sure he trusted my mom, and she's been canning for many years!

So when I saw a coupon for the Ball Canning Discovery Kit, I thought it might be just the thing to tempt Ger into giving it a try. The kit comes with three pint jars with lids and rings, a small canning rack, and a little booklet with a few different recipes, including salsa. Knowing how Gerry feels about salsa, I thought it might be just the thing to spark an interest in canning!

And it worked! Our farm share supplied the tomatoes, peppers, onions, even the cilantro! Ger was a little conservative with the jalapeno peppers, and the salsa could be hotter, but he can adjust that next time. Meanwhile, he's gobbling it up!

The recipe made exactly enough to fill the three pint jars. Those clever people from Ball...they know what they're doing!

Before we bought this kit, I looked up some reviews about it. I liked that it offered a simplified, friendlier approach to canning, but I was worried that it was a complete waste of money. As it turns out, even many experienced canners really like this smaller rack, as it's convenient for preserving small batches.

Monday, October 10, 2011

[Susan's note: Getting a decent photo of this was a nightmare. I took about 26 shots, and this is the best of the bunch. Just wish that one piece of onion wasn't sitting there looking like a booger!]

I've never had delicata squash before. I figured it was just like other squash-you bake it and eat it! But in my search for recipes, I came across many that suggested doing a "twice baked" style of cooking. After reading several of the recipes, I decided to-SURPRISE!-wing it.

After halving the squash, set half of the halves aside.Place the rest of the squash on a baking sheet with about 1/8 of an inch of water. Bake in 350 degree oven until tender.When cooked, allow the halves to cool until you are able to handle them, then scoop out the pulp and mash.While the innards are cooling, sautee the onion and garlic together until soft and translucent.Combine the onion and garlic with the mashed squash. Mix in the bread crumbs and cheese.Fill the remaining squash halves with the squash/onion/cheese mixture. Place on a baking sheet and put in a 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the squash is tender and the filling browns.Serve and enjoy!